A piano string should not be touched with the finger as the small amount of moisture on
the finger will in time cause the string to rust.
MANNERISMS
Recordings show that pianists born in the nineteenth century used the following
performing mannerisms in their piano playing:
! Melody delaying: playing the right hand melody slightly after the left hand
accompaniment;! Melody anticipation: playing the right hand melody slightly before the left hand
accompaniment; and! Arpeggiata: arpeggiation, rolling, breaking, spreading of chords where not so
marked by the composer, for reasons other than the limitations of an insufficiently
large hand.Recordings also show that these mannerisms fell almost completely into disuse by the
1930s.
The writer undertook a project to consider the use of these mannerisms, as recorded on
reproducing piano rolls, by comparing the playing of ten pianists born in the nineteenth
century. No disc recordings were used. The recordings were of Chopin’s Nocturne in F
sharp major opus 15 no. 2 composed in 1830/31.
The reproducing piano rolls were recorded between 1905 and 1921 and in one case in
- The proposition that they represent nineteenth century performing practice is
based on the assumption that the use by the recording artists of the mannerisms did not
substantially vary over their performing career.
The writer had access, through the kindness of Denis Condon of Newtown, Sydney, to
his collection of reproducing pianos and reproducing piano rolls and, in particular, to
recordings of the Nocturne by ten different pianists. Reproducing piano rolls were issued
from 1905 to the early 1930s and were able and are able, on a properly adjusted
reproducing piano, to recreate the expression, including pedalling and nuances of
dynamics, as recorded by the pianist. Reproducing pianos are not to be confused with
player pianos. Player pianos were often called generically ‘pianolas’ after the first make.
They could not reproduce the pedalling or dynamics of the recording artist although the
operator of the player piano could vary the dynamics and tempi by manipulating certain
controls, and could also use the sustaining and soft pedals.
Whether a reconstruction of the recording artist’s dynamics was later manually perforated
in the roll by the recording engineers is controversial, but it is thought that at least Welte
used some automatic process. Reproducing piano rolls, when played back on a properly